SMA: Sailormoon Ancients: Sailor Panthera's Story
by Shade Keiko
Summary: When Usagi and the others go on a seemingly innocent school field trip, who could have imagined what would happen next? With a new enemy and a mysterious new Sailor, the Sailor Senshi must pull out all the stops and battle an ancient evil.
1. Introduction

**Summary: ** When Usagi and the others go on a seemingly innocent school field trip to the mountain forest of Senyaki, who could have imagined what would happen next? With a new enemy and a mysterious new Sailor, the Sailor Senshi must pull out all the stops and battle an ancient evil.

**PLEASE READ:**

**Introduction to Sailormoon Ancients: Sailor Panthera's Story**

**NOTE 08/02/2006:** _OK, so I sort of abandoned this nearly a year ago. I've had the whole thing planned out for over 2 years, and I feel bad for never writing it. I've recently gained a bit more motivation and inspiration, so I think I'll have another crack at it. I revised Chapter 1 a bit – nothing major just some sentence structuring and stuff. Fixed some stupid errors et all. It still kind of sucks, but I'm hoping once I start writing again I'll get better. Hopefully. In any case, **please R&R**! I'd love to hear what you think._

O O O O

Before you read this story, there are a few notes and other ramblings that I want to list here as a little introduction to SMA. I am doing this because I really don't want to clutter up the actual story episodes with all of this stuff, when I could just put it all on one page like this.

First of all, for some background, SMA stands for Sailormoon Ancients. It's semi-AU in the sense that it could have feasibly happened sometime during/in between Super and SuperS, but it could have not. In any case, it's supposed to be like a full season of Sailormoon. That is why it's separated into "episodes" as opposed to "chapters." Each episode is like an episode of the Sailormoon anime.

Secondly I'd like to state that (this version of, at least) Sailor Panthera is my original Sailor Senshi. Please don't steal her. I have my sources, and I shall find you if you do. **I know there have been some issues about some other panthera story**. I honestly had no idea that existed, and I sat in my room for hours thinking up a name – and in my mind I created the word "panthera." In other words, I thought the word was my own creation, so needless to say I was shocked when someone pointed out to me another Sailormoon related panthera thing. Nevertheless, I can say with great certainty that this story does in no way resemble the story in question, so I'm sorry if I offended anyone, or gave anyone the wrong idea. I should have researched on my part, so my apologies.

Also, I'd like to talk about critique. Please, please, PLEASE if you:

a) hate my story, please try not to bash it so much; tell me why you hate it and if possible, tell me something that you liked about it, if anything.

b) love my story, please don't just say stuff like "omG I luv ur story plz write more s00n!" Please say why you like it, and PLEASE tell me something that's wrong with it. I really need and appreciate constructive criticism.

About Sailor Panthera herself - I've tried to make her as non Mary Sue-ish as possible. She has a lot of faults and stuff…but I'm open to criticism on this part as well, not just my writing style and the flow of the story.

Okay…let's see. Ah yes, I gave this story a PG-13 / T rating. Although I'm not sure exactly where it will fall in the end, I think the main reason why I made it PG-13 was because of some violence, language, and perhaps the fact that the meaning of the story may be over some 10-year-old's heads. Then again, it might not.

Spelling/grammar! If you see a mistake in spelling/grammar, PLEASE tell me! I try to proofread all of my writing, but there are times where I miss stuff. I'm especially bad at commas, so please e-mail me or post in the critique board if you see a mistake.

Also, I have this story all planned out, so if you submit ideas about my story, they probably won't make it into the fanfic. However, I may like one of the ideas, and I love reading them, so don't let that prohibit you from expressing your thoughts on the story!

I'm hoping to establish a website dedicated to Sailor Panthera and SMA later on if this goes well. Please tell me if this is a good idea after reading a few of the episodes. Speaking of reading episodes, please tell me if I should continue after this first one…if it sucks I don't want to humiliate myself by posting more crap.

Also, like a lot of fanfiction, all of this stuff is subject to change. That includes the story. I may come back to it later and say "that sentence sounds like crap" and I'll change it. I also may change major things in the plot as well. I'm hoping I won't have to do this, as it's a very risky endeavor, but it's possible. So…just as a warning.

Thanks for reading these notes, and I hope you enjoy the story!

-Shade Keiko


	2. Episode 01

**Episode 01: A New Enemy and a Mysterious Senshi! Another Battle Begins!**

The chamber was dim, cold, and eerily silent. A mysterious, shadowed figure sat upon the throne. Obsidian. Menacing. It glinted slightly in the firelight of the two cackling torches, the only entities privy to the plan of the master aside the thick stone walls. The walls - they sweat cold, damp sweat, fearing the being they surrounded. But they had nothing to fear; nothing for them was at stake. But the four other figures bowing before him - they, now _they_ had things to fear. They had everything to lose. You couldn't see their fear, but you could feel it. The air was thick with it. The figure on the throne could smell it, taste it. He relished in it, thrived on it. Suddenly, as the level of fear seemed to reach its climax, he spoke:

"_It begins." _

His chilling voice echoed throughout the hall.

O O O O

The reflection of the full moon glistened on the round pool. The only sounds were that of the trickling of water pouring into the pool from a small waterfall, and the soft, natural noises of the nocturnal animals of the tranquil mountain forest surrounding the small clearing.

_Snap. _A glossy black paw had accidentally stepped on a twig. The forest went silent. Even the waterfall's gentle music seemed to be hushed by the presence of the animal.

The sleek black panther revealed itself into the clearing. It walked slowly to the edge of the shallow pool, and gazed at its reflection for a while. Maybe a few seconds, maybe a few minutes, maybe an hour. Time just seemed to stop in its presence. Mesh together, flow disrupted. It bent down to take a sip of the cool water, and then turned back to return to its dwelling deep in the heart of the mountain forest. The panther's gait did not emanate menace or evil, but a feeling of deep melancholy. Sadness and despair.

Moments after the panther had left the clearing, the night animal noises resumed. The small waterfall's trickling song was alive again. It was as if the panther hadn't appeared there at all.

O O O O

The familiar and foreboding sound of the school bell rang in Usagi Tsukino's ears. She raced up the stairs as fast as she could, her long pigtails swaying behind, praying that she would somehow, miraculously be on time. As she skidded into her homeroom, and took her seat, her teacher had just begun to take attendance.

"_Phew!" _Usagi thought, _"Another close one." _Usagi knew she was technically late, but the teacher hadn't scolded her the second she got into the room, so she knew she was safe for now.

The homeroom teacher paid no mind to Usagi and her lateness, as Usagi had expected. She was always late, so apparently the teacher had given up on her ever being on time. She continued taking attendance. "Aino!" she called.

"Here!" said Minako. Minako Aino adjusted her large red bow that was tying some of her long blonde hair together. She turned to look at Usagi, and smiled. Minako was often late with Usagi, however it seemed that that morning Minako had beaten her.

"Kino!" the teacher continued.

"Here." said the tall brunette. Makoto Kino returned to toying with her pink mechanical pencil out of boredom, while the teacher continued calling out names. Minako doodled on the edge of a piece of notebook paper. Ami was deeply absorbed in a book on the Theory of Special Relativity.

"Mizuno!"

"Here." Ami said as she straightened her reading glasses. She pulled a loose strand of her short dark hair back behind her ear, and went back to her book. As Usagi looked around the room, the teacher called her name, and then finished off with the others in the class.

"Now, today, as you know, we have a field trip to the mountain forest of Senyaki. There will be no classes today, so you can just leave your books on your chair." the teacher said. After that was said the students of the class began conversing among themselves while proceeding to the bus to take them to Senyaki.

"We have a field trip today? I had no idea!" said Usagi a bit sheepishly.

Ami and Makoto sighed. "So typical of you, Usagi-chan." Minako squirmed while walking, and looked awkwardly towards the floor.

"What? Don't tell me _you _forgot too?" Ami put her hand to her head, and shook it in a state of utter befuddlement.

When the group got outside, Usagi spied her cat Luna sitting patiently on the top of a low brick wall, her dark, polished fur glistening in the sunlight. As Luna turned to look for Usagi, the golden crescent moon on her forehead shimmered as it caught the light.

When Luna noticed Usagi waiting in line to board the bus, she jumped down from the ledge, and inconspicuously trotted over to her.

"Wanna come along?" Usagi asked. "This could get a bit boring."

"I'm not sure if cats are allowed to go on school field trips, Usagi-chan." Luna said with a slightly irritated sigh.

Minako writhed her way through the crowd of students, and pushed Usagi out of the way. "Hey!" she exclaimed eagerly. "Of course you're coming, Luna! _Come_ on-" Minako grabbed Luna of the ground, and boarded the bus. Usagi stared blankly after her.

"Hey Usagi! Hurry up, we haven't got all day!" yelled a classmate as she slowly made her way inside the bus. Usagi turned back at this remark and stuck out her tongue at the boy.

She chose the empty spot next to Minako. It turns out that Luna wasn't the only cat she managed to smuggle on the field trip, either. Artemis, her white cat poked his head out of an oversized handbag Minako had brought along. He stared at Minako, evidently aggravated at his owner for treating him like a sack of potatoes. Minako grinned sheepishly. "Sorry!"

Luna then revealed herself from the oversized handbag. She shook head to relieve dizziness. "Next time please don't pick me up by my tail," she rebuked.

"So…where are we going again, exactly?" Usagi asked.

Ami poked her head from the seat behind her. She was partnered with Mako.

"We're going to Senyaki." When her confused look didn't recede, Ami explained further.

"Senyaki is a mountain forest about an hour outside of Tokyo. That's the reason we're not going by train-it's a forest. Were you listening even a _little _to what Ms. Kanamoto said?" Usagi shook her head and shrugged.

As the remaining student and the teacher boarded the bus, something by the curb in the shrubs stirred restlessly. Out of what seemed like impatience mixed with yearning, the dark, shadowy creature exposed itself for a moment to follow the teacher inside. It grabbed a hold of her shadow, and nestled itself comfortably in its cold caress. For a split second, Mrs. Kanamoto stopped and smiled eerily, her dark brown eyes glazing over. She closed her clouded eyes and breathed a deep, relaxing breath, welcoming the lustful sensation of her new shadow. Then she snapped out of it, stepped up into the bus, and returned to normal. Completely unaware of what just occured. It was as if… nothing had happened at all.

"Now everyone, I want to remind you of proper bus etiquette…"

Usagi ignored the drone of bus etiquette, and looked behind her seat to get a better view of Ami. "So what is so great about this Senyaki place anyway?"

It was Makoto who answered this time. "Senyaki used to be home to many villages outside the city-the old Edo. I'm not so sure exactly what we're seeing, though. Probably some leftover temples or ruins of some sort."

Ami nodded. "It's going to be really interesting. I just hope you brought something to do on the bus ride."

"But I thought you said it was only an hour or so away!" Minako protested. "That's not so bad!"

"Sure, but when has Tokyo traffic during rush hour been light?" Makoto said with a smile. Ami went back to her book on the Theory of Special Relativity. Usagi and Minako groaned.

O O O O

Deep in the heart of Senyaki, she could feel it. She could sense the dark creature's lust for power and domination over its host. It was far away, but it was coming closer. It was weak, but it was becoming stronger.

But she would be ready when it came.

O O O O

Usagi yawned as she woke up from a 40 minute nap. "Luna, if I only got those extra 40 minutes in the morning, I'm sure we'd both be much happier people."

Luna rolled her eyes. That alone was enough to get her point across. "So, Minako, anything new?"

"Not really. Although being on this school field trip with you guys really makes me wish Rei was here."

Rei Hino went to an all-girls private school, and Minako wasn't the only one who wished she didn't. Rei didn't especially like not going to the same school as her other friends.

"Me too…" Usagi sighed and then yawned again. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask you-did you see that solar eclipse last month?"

"Aww! I didn't know there was one!" Minako pouted for a second. "When was it?"

"Hmm…" Usagi thought for a second. "Oh! I remember-it was that day we went shopping and we saw those 2 really hot guys in Harajuku-or was it Ueno? Remember we got those really good crepes…"

Usagi and Minako continued to chat animatedly for the next half hour. Ami, decided reading while riding in a bus wasn't the greatest of ideas, and began talking to Mako, who had just stolen a bite of some pound cake she had baked the night before.

"Have you ever been to Senyaki before?" Ami asked Mako.

"No, although I've seen it from afar. It's really beautiful!" Mako replied thoughtfully after swallowing the bite of the sweet bread. "I'm really exited to see it from a closer view."

"Mm." Ami nodded. "I hear there are some nice temples and shrines of sorts around as well. I hope we get to get close. I mean, often times they don't let people get too close since it's really old, and there aren't really any organized tourist programs there."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Mako said. There was a long silence. "So, have you heard of the legend?"

"What le-?" Ami began to ask. However, she was abruptly cut off by a loud shriek.

In the front of the bus where Ms. Kanamoto had been sitting was a large bear-and it wasn't happy. In a mad rage, it shattered the windshield, and grabbed the bus driver by his shoulders. The bear then hurled the bus driver from his seat, and out the space where there was once a door.

Ami and Mako stood frozen, gripping the seat in front of them for support. Everyone else, including Usagi and Minako, was screaming. Luna and Artemis jumped out of the handbag.

The bus began to careen out of control. "We're going to crash." Ami whispered, the color from her face draining until she was as pale as a geisha.

"Dammit!" Mako hissed. "There is nothing we can do! We can't transform in front of these people!"

Usagi and Minako whimpered.

Then, the bear suddenly jumped out of the bus, leaving all of the students behind to crash.

Mako ran up to the front of the bus to try to take control, but the bear had conveniently knocked off the steering wheel. She tried slamming on the breaks, but they were jammed.

The bus was swerving in and out of the two lanes into incoming traffic, and gaining speed. Items students had brought on board were flying everywhere. Ami's thick book was hurled through the air and hit a girl in the back of the head. The students were still screaming, helpless in the out of control bus. Usagi turned to look at Ami, who was still frozen in fear. Minako clutched Usagi's arm relentlessly. Mako cursed and ran back to the others. Usagi thought she heard Mako say "It's hopeless."

Then, it all went black.

O O O O

When Usagi awoke, her head was aching horribly. When she came to her senses she looked around the bus anxiously. Everyone else was still unconscious. She then spotted what had caused the crash. They had run into a bunch of large trees. She glanced out the side windows. More trees. She sat up, warily, and spotted Luna sprawled out in an awkward position on the seat where Mako and Ami had been sitting. Artemis was tossed nearby. Minako was unconscious on top of Ami, fresh blood trailing from a cut in her lip. Usagi found Ami's glasses by her feet; the lenses were shattered beyond repair. The frames were bent and twisted like scrap metal in a junkyard heap. Mako was somehow jammed underneath the same seat Luna and Artemis were on. It was when Usagi stood and coughed, that Ami and Minako began to stir. Mako awoke with a start, and hit her head on the bottom of the seat. She muttered a few curses, and crawled out from under the seat.

"What happened?" Minako asked weakly.

"We crashed." Mako stood and looked around for a few moments. "It doesn't look like anyone was killed. We were lucky."

Luna and Artemis then aroused slowly. Luna gasped in pain.

"My leg…I think it's broken." She panted heavily. Artemis, unhurt, rose to aid her.

"Luna and I will stay here. You all should find that bear. It's still roaming wild out there. People are in danger." Artemis said. "That wasn't an ordinary bear. It was something dark…something evil."

Usagi had almost forgotten about that bear because of the chaos of the crash. Then she wondered, "_What _was _that bear, anyway? It appeared, so suddenly…out of nowhere!" _

"Let's go outside and transform. Then we'll try to pick up the bear's tracks." said Ami.

"Right."

They clambered their way over the unconscious forms of students sprawled out all over the floor and seats, to exit the bus.

From the outside, the crash looked pretty bad. The bus had swerved way off of the main road, and plunged into a steep ditch. The whole front of it had smashed into a clump of trees. Some of the trees had then fallen over on top of the vehicle, making the disaster hard to look at without shuddering. Mako shook her head in disbelief.

Usagi subconsciously stroked her transformation brooch on her school uniform bow. "We should transform." she said worriedly. The others nodded silently.

"Moon Crisis Power!" Usagi cried.

Ami then produced her own transformation wand. The others followed suit.

"Mercury Crystal Power!"

"Jupiter Crystal Power!"

"Venus Crystal Power!"

"MAKE UP!" they all cried in unison.

Ribbons of light in many colors swirled around the four girls as they transformed into the Sailor Senshi. After the transformation was complete, they headed back to the main road and began looking for the bear.

O O O O

The girl watched from the trees, hidden in the shadow. _"So _they _are Sailor Senshi too." _She mused this fact for an instant. _"This is good…" _

She followed them.

O O O O

Rei Hino sat in the classroom, trying to concentrate on the lesson. She focused her gaze on the blackboard, mechanically copying down the notes the teacher was writing. However, her mind was drifting somewhere else. Something wasn't right. She could sense it.

She allowed herself to lapse into her mind to find the problem. She swam around in her thoughts for what seemed like hours.

_An Ancient Evil is awakened. The Shadows move undetected. The Lost One shall once again reveal herself. An Ancient Evil is awakened… _

A tingling in her senses was growing stronger.

…_The Shadows move undetected…_

She felt a headache coming on-a dull pain creeping into her skull, gaining strength.

…_The Lost One…_

"_But _where_?" _ All of the sudden it became all too clear. She gasped and clapped her hand to her head in pain. She snapped back to her seat in the classroom, and found her classmates and the teacher staring at her.

"May I go to the nurse?"

She left the school in a hurry. She knew her friends were in danger. All she had to do was find a bus.

O O O O

After walking down the mountain for a while, Sailor Jupiter finally spotted a trace of what looked like the bear's paw prints on the side of the road. She walked over to the edge of the forest, and kneeled down to look at them more closely.

"I'm pretty sure these are what we're looking for." Jupiter said with confidence as she stood.

Sailor Mercury took out her mini computer and began examining the paw prints.

"It seems as if these were made recently. Within the last half hour, at least. The computer is also telling me that the prints go pretty far into the forest." She snapped the mini comp shut. "We should follow them. I'm sure they'll lead us to the bear."

"What are we supposed to do when we find this bear? I mean, _it threw the bus driver out the window_!" cried Sailor Venus. "I mean, I know Artemis said that this wasn't an ordinary bear…but I still don't understand how it actually got inside of the bus!"

"I just hope it didn't hurt anyone else." Sailor Moon finally spoke up worriedly. "Maybe we should contact Rei."

The others nodded. "Good idea." Jupiter said.

Sailor Moon took off her glove to reveal the communicator watch. It was strange taking off her glove-she had never done it before. There was no real situation where it was needed.

She spoke into the watch. "Rei, come in. Rei, are you there?" The screen was black. Then, the Senshi heard some scratchy noises as Rei fumbled for the watch in her pocket.

"Rei here. Is everything okay? I felt something, so I'm on my way."

"It's a disaster here. Wait! How do you know where we are? Do you know where we are? Where are _you_?" Venus said quickly into Moon's watch.

"Yeah, I know where you are, I can feel it. I'm on a bus right now heading up the mountain. I'll hop off when I catch sight of you."

"Okay, we'll explain everything when you get here." Sailor Moon said, and then closed the link.

The Senshi all sighed. Then, they heard the engine of the bus coming up the road. As the bus came into view, the Senshi could see Rei ask the driver to let her off on the shoulder. She ran to the group the bus passed out of sight.

"What happened?" she said catching her breath.

"It's kind of a long story…" Mercury began.

After the others were explained their tale, Rei felt a strange presence among them. She knew they weren't alone. However, she couldn't be sure if it was the enemy she was sensing…or someone else.

"_It doesn't feel evil…but there is something strange about it." _For some reason, she scanned the treetops. Suddenly, she saw a shadowed figure in the trees. Her eyes widened in shock.

"Rei…? Is everything okay?" Sailor Moon asked.

Rei turned away from the trees. "Yeah…I was just…thinking."

When she turned back to the trees. The shadowy figure, or whatever it was, was gone.

"Rei, you'd better transform." Mercury said.

"Oh…right." she said. She pulled out her transformation wand from her pocket.

"Mars Crystal Power, Make UP!"

O O O O

"Phew…" the girl murmured aloud to herself. _"That was too close…" _She continued to follow the Senshi in the treetops, being extra careful not to be seen or heard. She guessed the one who had caught a glimpse of her for those few, precious seconds was a psychic, or at least had some other special gift. None of the others had noticed her following before. But she was impressed, nevertheless. Maybe there was hope for them after all…

They were moving fast, deeper and deeper into the forest. As they approached closer to the clearing, her pulse quickened, and she paused to gasp for a breath. She hoped the Senshi were strong enough to contend bear.

O O O O

The bear caught sight of a lone middle-aged hiker, who happened to be passing by. It narrowed it's eyes, and decided to go after the prey. It slowly crept out of the brush concealing it, and moved into the clearing where the man sat to have a drink of water out of the pool. All of the sudden it leapt out at the man and tackled him to the ground. The hiker was too stunned to cry out for help. The bear managed to get him to stop moving so it could make its move. It bent its head down, and began sucking on the man's lips. The man's mouth opened and something glowing brightly began to come out. The bear breathed in a wispy, silver smoke-like substance. The bear bellowed a mighty roar of victory. The hiker's breathing slowed. He was still alive, breathing, but his eyes were glazed over. His mind seemed lost inside of him. It was like there was nothing left. He was…empty.

It had robbed him of his soul.

O O O O

The menacing roar echoed throughout the forest. The five Senshi stopped in their tracks, in shock. The roar was so loud the whole forest seemed to shake; the trees rustled in fear, and flocks of birds screeched piercingly and flew out from the treetops. The girl in among the shadows in the trees was consumed by the chaos. She screamed against her will, frightened by the dark birds as well as angry at herself for possibly giving away her cover. Fortunately for her, the sound of her scream was drowned out by the shrieks of the birds and the screams of the five Senshi below.

When the chaos lessened, and the sound of the birds' faded slowly into the distance, no one spoke for a few moments. Suddenly Sailor Mercury broke the silence.

"There." she said softly, shaking, and pointing in the direction of a large clearing. Sailor Moon shivered as the same frightened pale complexion on Mercury's face formed on hers. She and the others looked in the direction that she was pointing, although none of them needed to, as they subconsciously already knew what was there, looming in the shadows.

The massive bear lumbered slowly and ominously towards the Sailor Senshi, growling and roaring, spraying foamy saliva like a rabid animal in all directions. It stood up mightily, and pounded its-no-_his_ large clawed paws to his chest.

The girl in the trees stared at the bear intently, watching his every move as he moved closer to the Senshi.

Sailor Moon gulped nervously and looked at her fellow Senshi. Mercury was already scanning the bear, setting her fears aside temporarily to allow her Senshi instinct to take hold. Jupiter clenched her fists ready for a fight. Venus winced as a drop of the bear's saliva landed on her face.

"EWWWW! EW EW EW EW EWWWW!" she cried and furiously started to wipe it off from her face. "That's the last straw!" she continued, and pointed her index finger straight at the bear. "You're going down!" She nodded at Sailor Moon, and exclaimed, "_Venus Love-Me CHAIN!_"

A glowing orange-gold chain sped through the air and coiled itself about the bear. The bear grunted as it squeezed it tighter, and put up a resistance. The chain did not hold; the bear broke through it, and it shattered to a million pieces, and then, it disappeared.

The bear was now in a wild rage. It dashed towards Venus, it's dark claws glistening madly in the gloom of the forest. Venus gulped turned to Jupiter for assistance.

Jupiter nodded. "_Supreme THUNDER!_" A burst of lighting jolted from her hands and hit the bear square in the chest, temporarily stopping it in its tracks.

"Quick, Mars!" cried Jupiter.

Mars, a step ahead of Jupiter, already had the thin strip of paper brandished in her hand between her index and middle fingers. "_Aku…Ryo…Tai…SAN!_" Mars chanted the spell to ward off the demon, and thrusted the paper at the bear. It hit the bear right in the face, just as it recovered from Jupiter's thunder attack. The bear stopped suddenly, and closed it's eyes slowly, as if it were going to fall asleep standing there. Mars' eyes widened in shock.

O O O O

The girl in the tree was amazed at the sight of the bear-no-his_ shadow_ weakening by the power of this spell. She sighed a sigh of relief. _"Maybe I won't have to interfere this time…maybe the Senshi are strong enough to fend off the shadows for now…maybe…just maybe I will be able to guard my identity for now." _

But this thought came too soon.

O O O O

The bear sneezed rather loudly, and mucus sprayed throught the air. The Senshi winced in disgust, and Venus shrieked "EW!" once more as it sprayed her, yet again, straight in the face. Sailor Moon stood frozen, shocked that it actually could have sneezed in the middle of a battle. Jupiter had to keep herself from chuckling out loud. Mars stood trembling in disbelief; she had obviously thought she beat it before.

The sneeze, needless to say, threw them off guard. Sailor Moon didn't even see the bear coming-all she could do was stand there as the bear came upon her. It snatched her with one arm rather Godzilla-esque, and took her, screaming, deep into the heart of the forest, into the clearing. The four remaining Senshi ran, tossing their astonishment aside to help their Moon Princess, the princess they were supposed to be guarding with their life.

O O O O

The girl shuddered. She was going to have to interfere. She could not risk the Princess's soul being snatched like the unfortunate hiker's. She was going to have to reveal herself to the Senshi…the Senshi who had no idea she even existed. What were they going to think? Seeing her strange form…seeing a seemingly _alien _Senshi. Would they think her friend or foe? Would they accept her as one of their own? She banished these thoughts from her mind as quickly as they came. She couldn't afford to think about herself. Besides, they probably wouldn't accept her. They wouldn't understand her. Yes - it would be better this way, if they paid no mind to her existence. Besides…even if she did become friendly with them…it'd be a fleeting moment of happiness. They'd disappear into the flow of time, just like the others. Flowing on, while she-

-snapped back into reality. She had to think about the now. Not the past, not the future. She jumped down gracefully from the treetops, landing on all fours. Like a cat - perfectly balanced. She then ran as fast as she could towards the clearing, hoping she wasn't too late.

O O O O

All Sailor Moon could see was the passing of trees upside down. Held in the bear's grasp, she closed her eyes tight. Her heart was racing with fear. Where he was taking her and why was beyond her. Why he just didn't kill her right then right now was a mystery. Then again, this whole situation was a mystery itself. But she couldn't afford to think about why this was happening. No, not now. She had to focus on escaping the bear's bone-crushing grasp first. She opened her eyes again, and realized the bear was slowing down. He set her down by a spring with a small waterfall. She then remembered something that Ami told her once - that it was a good idea to pretend to be dead when around bears. She said she had read it in a book, so she supposed she might as well try it. So she continued to lay sprawled on the cold, wet stone by the spring, her long pigtails flowing in the icy water.

However, the bear did not seem to falter. He slowly bent down, his ragged face drew closer to hers. The moon soldier could feel the bear's hot breath on her face, and closed her eyes tighter. It was as if he was about to kiss her. It's breath smelled of death and suffering. She couldn't muster the strength to open her mouth to scream. Paralyzed with fear, she prayed that help would come soon…before it was too late.

As the bear's face drew closer, he began to inhale; like he was trying to breathe in her scent. But then suddenly it stopped. The bear released his hold, and turned his back to his prey.

It was then that Sailor Moon opened her eyes to see the girl.

The mysterious Sailor Senshi was shrouded in the shadows. She slowly walked into the center of the clearing, a single ray of sunlight shining through the trees. She stepped into the light, her deep brown eyes glistening, her glossy black hair shimmering vibrantly. Even her slightly tanned skin seemed to glow with an exotic radiance.

Her fuku reminded Usagi strongly of the forest they were in. Her forest green plaited skirt flapped in a soft breeze that was slowly gaining strength. Her sailor collar was also the same dark forest green, and had one white stripe going around. The choker and glove bands were also of the same green color, while the front and back bows were a dark chocolate brown. The back bow's ends trailed down her mid calves, only about six inches from the ground. Her shoes were four inch high heeled black sandals that squared off at the toe. Leather-like straps criss-crossed from her ankles up to just below her knee. The front bow had a dark green heart-shaped brooch in the center, with a single, glossy black panther claw on top of it. It was as if the sharp claw was piercing her forest green heart, dooming her for all eternity.

All of the sudden, the soft breeze became a strong wind, coming from the east. Leaves were flying everywhere, out of control. But the girl stood still, as if there were no force on her at all. She was completely unaffected by the overwhelming power of the wind. The bear struggled to stay standing.

"No!" shouted four voices. The inner Senshi stood at the entranceway to the clearing. They too began to get affected by the strong wind. Mercury grabbed onto a tree, tree sap sticking to her front bow and gloves. Jupiter struggled against the wind to stay standing, while Venus grabbed onto the closest Senshi she could find, who, unfortunately for Mars, happened to be her.

The mysterious Sailor Senshi turned to face them, smiled somewhat sadly, and then unsheathed a long saber from the wind. Its blade gleamed in the light from the single ray that was slowly being muffled by a large gray cloud. The Sailor gripped the long hilt tight with both hands, and then lunged towards the bear.

"Who…is that?" shouted Venus over the chaotic sound of the wind, howling throughout the forest.

"I don't know…" Mars said, attempting to pry Venus' hands from her waist while at the same time trying to keep her leg wrapped around a boulder to stay stable.

"We shouldn't just be standing here!" Jupiter said furiously. Her arms were barred in front of her face to keep the wind at bay, and to prevent debris from hitting her. "The bear's preoccupied. Let's get Usagi-chan out of here!"

"Venus, cover for Jupiter and me!" Mars shouted, finally freeing herself from Venus' desperate hold.

"This bear has high levels of evil energy. Although it's not like we couldn't tell from the beginning that this wasn't an ordinary bear." Mercury said to Venus while she scanned the bear from a distance, still battling with the mysterious Senshi.

"She doesn't seem bad-I mean, she's helping us!" Venus said to no one in particular.

O O O O

The mysterious forest Senshi battled on with the bear. She slashed at it with her saber, not caring about where the blade hit, just as long as it weakened the bear. Although her fighting style seemed unorganized and random, the Senshi watching her knew she had some sort of a plan. Like she had battled something similar to this before…

O O O O

"Usagi! Are you okay?" Jupiter and Mars said in unison as they reached the spring.

Sailor Moon nodded. "I'm fine." This was probably not the case, as she had numerous cuts all over her body from being so recklessly handled by the bear. Her fuku was torn to shreds in various places. Bruises were also starting to form around her neck and waist. Sailor Moon stood up shakily. "We have to help her." She insisted.

Jupiter and Mars looked at each other, questioning her judgement.

"We can't do that." Mars began. "Look at you. You're a wreck-you can't fight like this!"

Jupiter stepped forward. "Rei has a point, Usagi." Jupiter sighed, feeling Usagi's frustration at not being able to help. "Besides…how do we know this isn't a ploy?"

The three turned to watch the continuing battle between the Sailor and the bear. The bear seemed to be loosing. He had numerous gashes all over his body, flowing rivers of blood dampening his dark fur.

So the five watched on. But they soon realized that the Sailor was no longer aiming for the bear's body…but for the ground, so it seemed. She stabbed repeatedly at the ground around where the bear was standing. Suddenly, the bear shrieked. But it wasn't a bear sound. It was not like the deafening roar they heard before. It was almost…_human_ sounding.

The Sailor stopped stabbing the ground and held the blade up to the sliver of light remaining. There in the light, was a small black creature, scrambling and shrieking to be free of the blade that had pierced through its body.

"A shadow!" Mercury gasped, as she frantically tried to scan it. The forest Senshi nodded, and said one word: "_Tenma._" The wind started to die down, as if its job was done.

"_Tenma_?" asked Venus. "What's that?"

"It's the creature that she stabbed. It looks like the "_tenma" _she speaks ofis a shadow demon of sorts that possesses other people's true shadows, and eventually takes over their bodies…and…transforms them into…" Mercury trailed off.

"Into bears?" Venus asked again.

"Well, I don't know. I guess - it depends. It could be a bear this time, and something else next time. I don't know what distinguishes them either. Nothing is appearing on my scanner. It's virtually…unknown."

A long silence followed the horrible word "unknown." It was chilling, especially to Ami who was so used to knowing pretty much everything. And when she didn't, at least the mini computer was able to figure out what was going on. But when the mini comp didn't show any results, she knew it couldn't be good.

The Senshi looked away from the _tenma _and at the fallen bear. But the bear wasn't there. Instead, it was the bleeding form of a human. And that human was Mrs. Kanamoto.

Sailor Moon's eyes widened in shock. "Mrs. Kanamoto!" She ran over to the unconscious form of her teacher to aid her. Mercury gasped in realization.

"That's how the bear got into the bus! A _tenma _must have possessed Mrs. Kanamoto before the bus ride, and managed to take over her body!"

The mysterious Senshi shook the dead shadow demon from her blade, and stabbed it a few more times on the ground to ensure it would never possess another human again. She pushed her sword back into the soft breeze wind, which died down immediately afterwards. Then, she turned back towards the forest, dusting off her dark green skirt, and straightening her chocolate brown bow. It had been so long…

"Wait!" said Sailor Moon. "Wait! Who are you?"

The Sailor turned slowly, and smiled a melancholic smile. "My name is Sailor Panthera." she took a deep breath, as if she had been rehearsing this mini speech for years, and was just waiting anxiously for the time when she would have to give it. "That _tenma _was not the last you will be seeing." She turned to face all of the Senshi, her voice concerned. "Please. Guard your shadows. Beware of shadows with no host, shadows that wander alone, cold, and bloodthirsty…for most likely, they are _tenma _in their shadowthirst form. Hostless. They will stop at nothing to gain access of a human host. Please. Don't be caught off-guard." And with that, she turned slowly and started walk deeper into the forest.

"Wait! I want to get to know you! Please don't leave yet…we need to know more about the _tenma_!" Sailor Moon pleaded. "We need your help!"

For a moment, the Senshi stood motionless, shocked. Sailor Panthera regained her composure, turned again and smiled sadly. Her eyes glistened with what seemed liked tears. "Don't worry, Princess. I will protect you. There are many things you don't know yet. You can't know them yet. You will know in time, I suppose…but if it was my choice, I'd rather you'd not have to know at all." She faced back in the direction of the forest a final time, and jumped to the treetops, disappearing into the mass of green and brown. The place she called home.

O O O O

The five Senshi sat outside of their usual meeting place, the Hikawa Shrine, the Shinto temple that Rei's grandfather owned and operated.

It was a week after the incident in the forest. Mrs. Kanamoto was in the hospital recovering from her "injuries from the bus accident." The truth about her multiple stab wounds and the bear had to be kept secret, not that anyone would believe them if they told. Luckily for the Senshi, most of the students that were in the bus either forgot about the bear entirely, or thought it all to be a strange dream. However the Senshi could not as easily forget what happened that day. They were all deeply troubled about the whole thing; the strange transformation, the mysterious Senshi called Sailor Panthera, and the elusive _tenma_.

Luna sighed. "It seems we have yet another new enemy on our hands." She was lying down comfortably on Usagi's lap, a small splint on her broken leg.

"Yes. And unfortunately neither Luna nor I know anything about what you all have described. Later today I'll be heading over to CROWN to investigate further."

"No Artemis, _we _shall be heading over. I'm not letting you go alone; especially with these _tenma _now on the loose." Luna said defiantly, trying to stand. She winced in pain and had to collapse back down on Usagi's lap.

"Luna, you can't go out like that! Ami said you won't be able to walk on your leg for at least another two to three weeks." Artemis sighed. "But you do have a point. You all as Sailor Senshi cannot afford to be possessed by these creatures. From now on, I want you all to travel in pairs. Do _not, _I repeat, do _not, _go out alone. Especially at night. I'm thinking these _tenma _creatures like the night since you can't see your shadows then. Easier for them to gain access to a host without getting noticed. Got it?"

The five high school girls nodded. Then, Usagi spoke up.

"What about Panthera?" she looked at the others to see their reaction of her mentioning her.

Mako sighed. "Look, Usagi-chan, I know you always try to think positive about people and all, but I really don't think we can afford to trust Panthera as an ally right now." she paused slightly, feeling slightly hypocritical. "Although, what she said about the _tenma _made a lot of sense to what you all apparently witnessed on the bus."

"I agree." said Rei. "I don't know about her being a friend or foe, but I think it's safe to take what she said as fact. I had a strange feeling about her when I saw her. I mean, it really took me aback. There was…such sadness…such pain. Something just isn't quite right with her." She breathed a deep breath. "In the classroom I had this vision of sorts. It was like '_An Ancient Evil is awakened. The Shadows move undetected. The Lost One shall once again reveal herself.' _It kept on repeating over and over again in my mind. It was what made me leave school to come find you guys. It was such a strong feeling…" Rei trailed off and looked towards Ami.

"I'm pretty confident about the credibility of her information on the _tenma _as well. She seems pretty trustworthy to me, but I suppose majority rules. What do you say Minako?"

Minako sighed and stared towards the floor, as if in deep thought. She looked up, and bit her lower lip. She then looked at Usagi apologetically. "I'm sorry Usagi-chan…at first I thought she was okay, and I think her knowledge on the _tenma _is good…but the way she hacked at that bear…she _knew _that when Mrs. Kanamoto came to that she would be wounded like that. The has to be another way of going about getting rid of the _tenma_'s prescence, right?"

"It's okay, Minako-chan. I suppose you have a point." Usagi said with a slight shrug of disappointment. "I guess majority rules…"

O O O O

Sailor Panthera sat in a tall tree, deep in thought. The _tenma _had returned. She knew eventually it was going to happen…she was just somewhat in denial that it would ever come. She had waited so long…

And the Sailor Senshi…they were really there. It was so unreal, being surrounded by those who shared a common goal, although they probably didn't know it yet. But they would.

And Sailor Moon! She was so compassionate, so kind towards her.

"_I want to get to know you!"_

Those words Sailor Moon had said to her echoed in her mind. She was caught off-guard. She couldn't believe Sailor Moon could so easily trust her. She was naïve, she knew, but at the same time…so kind-hearted.

Panthera closed her eyes and smiled. Maybe, just maybe, she would be able to have people she could call friends. "Friends." The word was so foreign to her. She pictured herself with the five girls having fun and smiling…and laughing together, like normal teenage girls. She knew it was impossible for her to ever be normal, but the thought of it brought her a ray hope. It had been so long since she had felt this kind of hope. It was so warm, so comforting. When she opened her eyes to her real world, her home of Senyaki, a single tear dropped from her face into the depths of the forest spring below.


End file.
